Mother of fallen soldier William Aldridge 14 days into hunger strike (From Ledbury Reporter)

Mother of fallen soldier William Aldridge 14 days into hunger strike

9:20am Saturday 8th December 2012 in News

THE mother of the youngest British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan is continuing her hunger strike.

“I am obviously feeling a bit lower energy wise than I normally would and I am a bit tired,” said Lucy Aldridge, who began the protest 13 days ago on November 25.

“As long as my children are happy and healthy, this will continue for as long as it doesn’t pose too great a health risk for me.”

Lucy, from Bredenbury, has told her sons George, nine, and Archie, seven, about her hunger strike after her oldest son saw her story on the front page of last week’s Hereford Times.

“I had to explain to George and reassure him,” said Lucy.

“The children are excited about Christmas and not overly concerned as they trust what I am doing.”

Lucy started her protest against the reduction of her benefits because of the deathin- service (DIS) payment she received when Rifleman William Aldridge died at the age of 18 in 2009.

She said the result of the payment was to deprive her of £300 a week in benefits.

She is now compaigning for better treatment for the families of unmarried soldiers who die in battle.

“This is not a personal thing – this is about looking to the future,” she added.

“The resolution is about the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Work and Pensions working together.”

The 44-year-old, who suffers from a degenerative condition called hypermobility syndrome, is campaigning to have DIS payments made exempt when calculating what benefits can be given to people who have lost a loved one in the armed forces She said the DWP treats the DIS payment as savings, which she believes is wrong.